Richard Steele

Chapter XIV

Chapter 14 of Richard Steele is here in full — 382 sentences across 77 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

By Richard, Sir Steele • Curated US English Learning Edition

English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5

_Sir J. Bev._ But pray, sir, do you think Lucinda, then, a woman of such little merit?

_Bev.

Jun._ Pardon me, sir, I don't carry it so far neither; I am rather afraid I shall like her too well; she has, for one of her fortune, a great many needless and superfluous good qualities.

_Sir J. Bev._ I am afraid, son, there's something I don't see yet, something that's smothered under all this raillery.

_Bev.

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LEARNER DICTIONARY

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Chapter XIV Reading 1/76

Richard Steele

Chapter XIV

Chapter 14 of Richard Steele is here in full — 382 sentences across 77 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Reading 1/76 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1

_Sir J. Bev._ But pray, sir, do you think Lucinda, then, a woman of such little merit?

Line 2

_Bev.

Line 3

Jun._ Pardon me, sir, I don't carry it so far neither; I am rather afraid I shall like her too well; she has, for one of her fortune, a great many needless and superfluous good qualities.

Line 4

_Sir J. Bev._ I am afraid, son, there's something I don't see yet, something that's smothered under all this raillery.

Line 5

_Bev.

Learner Dictionary

These definitions explain words found in the current reading and keep every example grounded in its original sentence.

Oxford-style entry order: headword, part of speech, US IPA, concise definition, contextual example, and audio.

fortune noun US /ˈfɔːrtʃən/

an unknown and unpredictable phenomenon that causes an event to result one way rather than another

From this reading “Jun._ Pardon me, sir, I don't carry it so far neither; I am rather afraid I shall like her too well; she has, for one of her fortune, a great many needless and superfluous good qualities.”

merit noun US /ˈmerət/

any admirable quality or attribute

From this reading “_Sir J. Bev._ But pray, sir, do you think Lucinda, then, a woman of such little merit?”

needless adjective US /ˈniːdləs/

unnecessary and unwarranted

Pardon verb US /ˈpɑːrdən/

accept an excuse for

pray verb US /preɪ/

address a deity, a prophet, a saint or an object of worship; say a prayer

From this reading “_Sir J. Bev._ But pray, sir, do you think Lucinda, then, a woman of such little merit?”

qualities noun US /ˈkwɑːlətiz/

plural of “quality” — an essential and distinguishing attribute of something or someone

smothered adjective US /ˈsmʌðərd/

held in check with difficulty

From this reading “_Sir J. Bev._ I am afraid, son, there's something I don't see yet, something that's smothered under all this raillery.”

superfluous adjective US /ˈsuːpərflwʌs/

serving no useful purpose; having no excuse for being

Word partnerships in these lines

English keeps certain words together, and knowing the pair is worth more than knowing each word alone. Every partnership below was counted across our whole published library, and earns its place by appearing far more often than two unrelated words of the same frequency would.

Shown as this reading writes them, with the form the library counts, what kind of pairing it is, and how often it occurs.

good qualities adjective + noun counted as “good quality”

In this reading “Jun._ Pardon me, sir, I don't carry it so far neither; I am rather afraid I shall like her too well; she has, for one of her fortune, a great many needless and superfluous good qualities.”

All words in this reading · 57

Every word in these five lines is listed here, and every one of them can be played on its own.

Dictionary details are shown only when verified; these are not licensed Oxford entries.

adeterminerUS /ə/

used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one

From this reading _Sir J. Bev._ But pray, sir, do you think Lucinda, then, a woman of such little merit?

afraidadjectiveUS /əˈfreɪd/

filled with fear or apprehension

From this reading Jun._ Pardon me, sir, I don't carry it so far neither; I am rather afraid I shall like her too well; she has, for one of her fortune, a great many needless and superfluous good qualities.

alladjectiveUS /ɔːl/

(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class

From this reading _Sir J. Bev._ I am afraid, son, there's something I don't see yet, something that's smothered under all this raillery.

amauxiliary verbUS /æm/

the form of “be” used with “I”

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together

Bev

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading _Sir J. Bev._ But pray, sir, do you think Lucinda, then, a woman of such little merit?

ButconjunctionUS /bʌt/

used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before

From this reading _Sir J. Bev._ But pray, sir, do you think Lucinda, then, a woman of such little merit?

carryverbUS /ˈkæri/

move while supporting, either in a vehicle or in one's hands or on one's body

doauxiliary verbUS /duː/

used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis

From this reading _Sir J. Bev._ But pray, sir, do you think Lucinda, then, a woman of such little merit?

don't

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

faradverbUS /fɑːr/

to a considerable degree; very much

forprepositionUS /fɔːr/

intended to be given to, or used by, somebody

fortunenounUS /ˈfɔːrtʃən/

an unknown and unpredictable phenomenon that causes an event to result one way rather than another

goodadjectiveUS /ɡʊd/

having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified

greatadjectiveUS /ɡreɪt/

relatively large in size or number or extent; larger than others of its kind

hasauxiliary verbUS /hæz/

the form of “have” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun

herdeterminerUS /hɜːr/

belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned

IpronounUS /aɪ/

the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb

itpronounUS /ɪt/

a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned

JnounUS /dʒeɪ/

a unit of electrical energy equal to the work done when a current of one ampere passes through a resistance of one ohm for one second

From this reading _Sir J. Bev._ But pray, sir, do you think Lucinda, then, a woman of such little merit?

Jun

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

likeverbUS /laɪk/

prefer or wish to do something

littleadjectiveUS /ˈlɪtəl/

limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent

From this reading _Sir J. Bev._ But pray, sir, do you think Lucinda, then, a woman of such little merit?

Lucinda

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading _Sir J. Bev._ But pray, sir, do you think Lucinda, then, a woman of such little merit?

manyadjectiveUS /ˈmeni/

a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “as” or “too” or “so” or “that”; amounting to a large but indefinite number

mepronounUS /miː/

the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition

meritnounUS /ˈmerət/

any admirable quality or attribute

From this reading _Sir J. Bev._ But pray, sir, do you think Lucinda, then, a woman of such little merit?

needlessadjectiveUS /ˈniːdləs/

unnecessary and unwarranted

neitherdeterminerUS /ˈniːðər/

not one and not the other of two

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading _Sir J. Bev._ But pray, sir, do you think Lucinda, then, a woman of such little merit?

onepronounUS /wʌn/

used to mean any person in general, including the speaker

PardonverbUS /ˈpɑːrdən/

accept an excuse for

prayverbUS /preɪ/

address a deity, a prophet, a saint or an object of worship; say a prayer

From this reading _Sir J. Bev._ But pray, sir, do you think Lucinda, then, a woman of such little merit?

qualitiesnounUS /ˈkwɑːlətiz/

plural of “quality” — an essential and distinguishing attribute of something or someone

raillerynoun

light teasing repartee

From this reading _Sir J. Bev._ I am afraid, son, there's something I don't see yet, something that's smothered under all this raillery.

ratheradverbUS /ˈræðər/

on the contrary

seeverbUS /siː/

perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight

From this reading _Sir J. Bev._ I am afraid, son, there's something I don't see yet, something that's smothered under all this raillery.

shallmodal verbUS /ʃæl/

used with I and we for the future, or to offer and suggest

shepronounUS /ʃiː/

a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject

SirnounUS /sɜːr/

term of address for a man

From this reading _Sir J. Bev._ But pray, sir, do you think Lucinda, then, a woman of such little merit?

smotheredadjectiveUS /ˈsmʌðərd/

held in check with difficulty

From this reading _Sir J. Bev._ I am afraid, son, there's something I don't see yet, something that's smothered under all this raillery.

soconjunctionUS /soʊ/

for that reason; with the result that

somethingpronounUS /ˈsʌmθɪŋ/

a thing, without saying which

From this reading _Sir J. Bev._ I am afraid, son, there's something I don't see yet, something that's smothered under all this raillery.

sonnounUS /sʌn/

a male human offspring

From this reading _Sir J. Bev._ I am afraid, son, there's something I don't see yet, something that's smothered under all this raillery.

suchdeterminerUS /sʌtʃ/

of the kind already mentioned

From this reading _Sir J. Bev._ But pray, sir, do you think Lucinda, then, a woman of such little merit?

superfluousadjectiveUS /ˈsuːpərflwʌs/

serving no useful purpose; having no excuse for being

that's

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading _Sir J. Bev._ I am afraid, son, there's something I don't see yet, something that's smothered under all this raillery.

thenadverbUS /ðen/

subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)

From this reading _Sir J. Bev._ But pray, sir, do you think Lucinda, then, a woman of such little merit?

there's

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading _Sir J. Bev._ I am afraid, son, there's something I don't see yet, something that's smothered under all this raillery.

thinkverbUS /θɪŋk/

judge or regard; look upon; judge

From this reading _Sir J. Bev._ But pray, sir, do you think Lucinda, then, a woman of such little merit?

thisdeterminerUS /ðɪs/

used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned

From this reading _Sir J. Bev._ I am afraid, son, there's something I don't see yet, something that's smothered under all this raillery.

tooadverbUS /tuː/

to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits

underprepositionUS /ˈʌndər/

below or beneath something; less than

From this reading _Sir J. Bev._ I am afraid, son, there's something I don't see yet, something that's smothered under all this raillery.

welladverbUS /wel/

(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)

womannounUS /ˈwʊmən/

an adult female person (as opposed to a man)

From this reading _Sir J. Bev._ But pray, sir, do you think Lucinda, then, a woman of such little merit?

yetconjunctionUS /jet/

but in spite of that

From this reading _Sir J. Bev._ I am afraid, son, there's something I don't see yet, something that's smothered under all this raillery.

youpronounUS /juː/

the person or people being spoken to

From this reading _Sir J. Bev._ But pray, sir, do you think Lucinda, then, a woman of such little merit?

Chapter 14 of Richard Steele by Richard, Sir Steele holds 382 sentences, grouped into 77 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the source edition, unabridged, and the chapter records which sentences cover which part of the work so that nothing is dropped. Every word can be tapped for its pronunciation and dictionary entry.

What does chapter 14 of Richard Steele contain?

Chapter 14 holds 382 sentences of Richard Steele, unabridged, divided into 77 reading sections.

This page carries chapter 14 of Richard Steele by Richard, Sir Steele exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 382 sentences, grouped into 77 sections of at most 5 sentences so that a reader can take the chapter in steady, finishable pieces. The chapter also stores a coverage record mapping every one of its sentences to a part of the work, which is how the edition demonstrates that no line was dropped.

How do I study chapter 14 of Richard Steele?

Work through the 77 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.

Each of the 77 sections in this chapter is short enough to read once, hear once, and then re-read with the vocabulary in view. Tapping a word plays it alone and opens its dictionary entry with IPA, part of speech and meaning, so the reader is never forced to guess a pronunciation from spelling. Working section by section keeps a long chapter from becoming an undifferentiated wall of text, which is the usual reason a reader abandons a work of this period.

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Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 14 can be played aloud in United States English.

Audio covers the whole chapter: any sentence can be played, and any single word within it can be played on its own. The voice uses United States English. For a work of this period that matters, because spelling is an unreliable guide to pronunciation for vocabulary that has fallen out of daily use, and a learner who guesses wrong tends to keep the error. Hearing the word in its own sentence, and then alone, settles it.

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Yes. All 7365 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #55922 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.

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Project Gutenberg eBook #55922, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.

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Chapter XIV

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